Chapter 19 Archery and Horse Combat

The imperial horse farm of Xingqing Palace is usually used mainly for polo matches.

Polo was the most popular game in the court.

The pavilion next to it is built very high, and everything happening on the horse farm can be seen at a glance.

At this time, there were eighteen targets placed a few hundred steps in front of Li Xuan, roughly distributed in the northeast and southeast directions of the horse farm.

Li Xuan touched the quiver and found twenty arrows in total.

In order to prove his archery skills in front of the emperor, Li Xuan prepared to perform some complicated moves.

"drive……"

Seeing some red "balls" on the stone platform at the edge of the horse farm, Li Xuan rode his horse away. When the horse passed the stone platform, he turned sideways and grabbed two fist-sized horse balls and put them in his arms.

Yang Yuhuan, who was in the pavilion, saw this and asked Li Longji, "Sanlang, why is the left prime minister holding a polo ball? Is he going to play polo?"

"Qi Lang wants to show off his superior archery skills."

Li Longji had extraordinary eyesight and guessed Li Xuan's purpose.

Wang Zhongsi could then use a 150-jin bow to shoot the peaches thrown into the sky.

He immediately took Yang Yuhuan to the edge of the pavilion to watch.

Yang Yuhuan's curiosity was aroused. She looked at the figure on the horse and didn't want to miss it.

Gao Lishi and other Yulin Guards, palace maids, and eunuchs also kept their eyes on Li Xuan.

A young man who is considered to be a "great talent" is a kind of impact in itself.

Li Xuan on the horse field began to speed up his horse, and in a blink of an eye, he was only more than 200 steps away from the target.

He loosened the reins, held the bow in his left hand, and took out a feathered arrow from the quiver with his right hand.

In his previous life, Li Xuan was a sharpshooter. In this life, he inherited Li Xuan's proficiency in horseback archery. After two months of practice, he was able to shoot through the target from a hundred paces away.

The target was one hundred and twenty steps away to the southeast.

Li Xuan's eyes became calm and focused. He took a deep breath and put the arrow on the bowstring.

Li Xuan calmly stretched a stone into a full moon, like a dragon emerging from the sea, ready to take off.

"Boom!"

"call out!"

As the bowstring vibrated, the arrow flew through the air.

In a flash, a feathered arrow hit the center of the target on the far left in the southeast of the horse field.

At this moment, the surrounding Yulin Guards were speechless.

It was the first time they saw someone shooting with a horse bow over a hundred steps away and with such accuracy.

This is also the purpose why Li Xuan chose the Yishi Qibow.

The one-stone cavalry bow can kill more than 120 steps when shooting horizontally.

Like the Qidou Cavalry Bow just now, even if Li Xuan has the ability, it will be like "the spent force of a dying crossbow".

"call out!"

After shooting one arrow, Li Xuan drew his bow and shot at the second target, hitting it exactly.

The horse was controlled at a distance of more than 100 steps, shuttling back and forth on the racecourse. Li Xuan shot seven arrows in succession as smoothly as flowing water, all of which hit the center of the bull's eye.

"Divine power!"

The Yulin Guards couldn't help but cheer to express their admiration for Li Xuan's archery skills.

Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan couldn't see clearly whether Li Xuan hit the target, but after hearing the shouts of the Yulin Guards, they knew that Li Xuan must have hit the target.

Li Xuan had not yet finished shooting his arrows, so he rushed to the northeast, where there were nine more targets.

Still one hundred and twenty steps away, this time, the horse crossed sideways, and Li Xuan shot an arrow every two breaths.

The trembling sound of the bowstring made every Yulin soldier who was good at archery feel nervous.

This represents unparalleled power.

Look at the nine targets lined up in a row, each with a feather arrow stuck in it.

The heroic figure, the Yulin Guards riding horses and drawing bows, shocked the entire scene.

There are still two feather arrows left in the quiver.

Li Xuan turned his horse and headed towards the high pavilion where Li Longji was.

When he was three hundred steps away from Li Longji, Li Xuan took out a horse polo ball from his arms, held the polo ball tightly, and threw it out diagonally with force.

The wooden polo ball drew an arc in the air and flew dozens of feet away in an instant.

Everyone, including Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, stared at the flying polo ball.

Li Xuan drew his bow and shot with lightning speed.

"Boom!"

The bowstring vibrates.

"call out!"

A strong stone bow shoots an arrow like a flying eagle, and the sound of it breaking through the air is full of power.

"Oh!"

The polo ball that was about to fall to the ground was pierced by a feather arrow as fast as lightning and fell on the grass.

Li Xuan took out another polo ball and threw it straight towards a willow tree several dozen steps away.

"call out!"

The moment the polo ball was thrown, another arrow came.

"boom!"

The powerful arrow pierced the horse ball and nailed the horse ball to the willow tree.

The quiver was empty, Li Xuan stopped his horse, raised the horse's hooves, and held up the carved bow, looking unparalleled in his heroic manner.

The entire racecourse was silent because of Li Xuan.

The level of these two arrows was so high that everyone was amazed.

"Yang Youji and Li Guang in ancient times were no more than this."

Li Longji looked around and gave the highest praise to Li Xuan's archery skills.

"Qi Lang has broadened my horizons. Will he be a civil official or a military commander in the future?"

Yang Yuhuan was attracted by Li Xuan's power and talent, and asked Li Longji.

When Li Xuan hit the polo ball just now, Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but applaud.

"Civil officials need political achievements, and military generals need military merits. It depends on what Qilang chooses."

Li Longji stroked his beard and smiled, but his words were meaningful.

"Looking at Qilang's riding skills, he must be very good at playing polo. Next time I play polo, I must call him." Yang Yuhuan looked back and smiled.

"As you wish!" Li Longji gently patted Yang Yuhuan's shoulders.

At this time, a general wearing black armor rode a horse towards Li Xuan.

"Everyone says that General Fan Heng is the most powerful general in the imperial guards. What if he hurts Qilang? Qilang is good at shooting, but not necessarily good at fighting." Yang Yuhuan complained to Li Longji when she saw this general.

Li Long loved Li Xuan and felt that he had been inconsiderate, so he immediately said to Gao Lishi, "Hurry up and call General Fan Heng, don't hurt Qilang!"

"The sage has ordered that General Fan Heng stop at that point and do not hurt Qilang."

As soon as Li Longji finished speaking, Gao Lishi immediately stood on the steps of the pavilion and shouted.

"The sage has ordered that General Fan Heng stop at that point and do not hurt Qilang..."

Then, the eunuchs around shouted in unison, and everyone in the racecourse could hear it clearly.

The general named Fan Heng stood still on his horse, holding a long spear without a spearhead, and bowed to Li Longji in the distance to receive orders.

Fan Heng once won the first place in the Wuzuanbian examination in the 15th year of Kaiyuan, and was known as the top military scholar.

He did not choose to make meritorious service on the border, but stayed in the imperial army. He was promoted from Si Ge, a rank of eighth rank, to the current rank of General of the Right Dragon Guard, a rank of third rank, and became Li Longji's confidant. He would always follow him when he went out.

On Li Xuan's side, several Yulin Lang came forward, holding a long spear without a spear head and a set of iron armor.

Li Xuan understood that this was an opportunity for him to practice cavalry combat with the general in front.

"Please dismount and put on your armor!"

The Yulin Lang told Li Xuan that they admired his archery skills very much and showed their respect.

"No need for armor!"

After Li Xuan finished speaking, he simply took the "headless" spear and rode his horse towards Fan Heng.

The Yulin Guards were too late to stop it.

"How dare you disrespect me."

When Fan Heng saw that Li Xuan was not wearing armor and was even arrogant, he immediately became furious.

I thought I would teach Li Xuan a lesson today.

Even if Li Xuan fell off his horse and got injured, it was his own fault. The saint would not blame him.

The two horses charged forward, and in the blink of an eye, the two were less than twenty feet apart.

Li Xuan held the gun with both hands, fearless of everything.

Fan Heng held his spear in his hand, wanting only to knock Li Xuan off his horse.

Ten feet!

Five feet!

Both men fired at the same time.

"call!"

Fan Heng swept across with great force, but Li Xuan anticipated his move and blocked it with his spear sideways.

The powerful blow hit Li Xuan's gun, but caused no ripples.

Li Xuan's arm shook, and Fan Heng felt a huge force running through his body. His body tilted, he staggered, and almost fell off his horse.

Fortunately, the two horses passed each other quickly.

After the horses ran for dozens of feet, the two men turned their horses' heads again and rushed towards each other.

Feeling his palms go numb, Fan Heng thought to himself that what a great strength he had, and his eyes became solemn.

Li Xuan also tested Fan Heng's strength.

Far inferior to him.

This time, he took the initiative.

The two horses collided again, and Li Xuan stabbed straight ahead with his gun.

Fan Heng also stabbed Li Xuan at the same time.

But Li Xuan has longer arms, greater strength, and can draw his gun faster.

"boom!"

Before Fan Heng's gun touched Li Xuan, Li Xuan accurately pointed it at the heart guard.

The huge force hit Fan Heng and he fell off his horse uncontrollably.

The audience was shocked!
The General of the Right Dragon Guard, who was extremely strong and always brave, was knocked off his horse in two rounds by Li Xuan, who was not wearing any armor.

If Li Xuan had used a real gun with a spear head, he would probably have hit Fan Heng's vital point.

"Xu..."

Li Xuan reined in his horse, returned to the grounded Fan Heng, dismounted and supported Fan Heng: "General, are you injured?"

Fan Heng was, after all, a general of the Longwu Guards, and he felt ashamed to be knocked off his horse in public in two rounds.

Although he was middle-aged, he was strong and healthy, and was wearing armor, so he was not injured in the fall.

When Li Longji summoned Li Xuan, Fan Heng, confident of his bravery, volunteered to verify Li Xuan's martial arts and did not expect that he would be defeated.

Li Xuan saw that Fan Heng remained silent and did not seem to be hurt, so he did not ask any more questions.

A group of Yulin Guards rushed to Fan Heng and supported Li Xuan instead.

They came to the pavilion and waited for Li Longji's instructions.

"Qilang is extremely brave. However, charging without armor is a sign of not cherishing your life. This is not acceptable on the battlefield."

While Li Longji praised Li Xuan, he also blamed Li Xuan.

He hesitated in his heart, wondering whether he should place the young and energetic Li Xuan on the frontier?

In contrast, Yang Yuhuan had no idea about this kind of fight and was only afraid of hurting Li Xuan.

She enjoys watching archery "shows".

"I am still young and strong, and with the general's permission, I was lucky enough to win. I will remember the saint's teachings and wear armor on the battlefield from now on."

After Li Xuan bowed, he bowed again to Fan Heng to save Fan Heng's face.

This made Fan Heng feel even more ashamed. He bowed to Li Longji and said, "Qi Lang is a brave man. If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were still alive, I would be convinced and ashamed of myself."

"General Fan Heng does not need to blame himself. When a famous general emerges, he will always astonish the world."

Li Longji knew Fan Heng's fighting ability and loyalty, so he would not blame Fan Heng for this.

After this discussion, he valued Li Xuan's bravery even more.

After arranging Fan Heng to go down and rest, Li Longji took Li Xuan to Chenxiang Pavilion.

The area surrounding the Chenxiang Pavilion is full of blooming peonies.

The flowers are in clusters and the fragrance is charming.

When you come to the second floor of the Chenxiang Pavilion, you can see the colorful flowers all around.

This was where Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan usually drank and admired flowers.

The fact that Li Longji could summon Li Xuan here shows that he loved Li Xuan.

The clever Yang Yuhuan knew that Li Longji wanted to discuss military and political affairs with Li Xuan, so she brought the palace maids to the peony garden to appreciate the flowers.

Wherever she passed, the flowers seemed to curl up their petals out of shyness.

In the peony garden, thousands of flowers compete for beauty, and she is like a flower among them, brilliant in all colors.

(End of this chapter)